It was a roaring success with a great variety of speakers and around 150 visitors to the drop in day, listening to presentations, visiting stalls and exhibitions at the venue, followed by the unveiling of a memorial stone to those who fell at The Battle of Boar’s Head on 30th June 1916.

Just to say a huge thank you for your support and delivery for The Orange Lilies project since June 2016.

Your time and expertise has really served to make the project happen and is so very much appreciated. I really can’t thank you enough for your involvement!

We are still uploading research to the project website, so things won’t end right away, but in terms of project delivery we are now complete.

I must say it’s come round far too soon and I feel in some ways like we’ve just got started, so am sad to finish, but on to projects new for now.

We’ve had great feedback from visitors for the day in general and also each specific session. The day was a real success and we had around 150 visitors ongoing through the day to hear your presentations. I hope you enjoyed it too!

‘I was glad to catch Geoffrey Mead’s talk. Fascinating!’

‘The speakers were of an extremely high standard’

‘Chris Kempshall’s talk was my favourite part’

‘A fascinating day, thank you!’

‘Really enjoyed it’

‘The speakers were all inspirational, amusing, entertaining, relevant and inspiring’

‘It was an illuminating and fascinating day of events’

‘All the presentations (including the Q+A) were of an extremely high standard’

‘Many congratulations on a superb project’

If you’d like to join the Strike a Light mailing list for future project activities and events, do let me know and I’ll add you to the newsletter.

At the time of the 1911 census, Patrick Francis’ parents, John Langton (50 years old), a Cycle Engineer, and his Mother Ada E. Langtono (37 years old) are recorded to have been married for 14 years with three children.

Patrick Francis was the eldest at 13 years of age at the time of the census, followed by his sister Madge at 11 years and brother Fredrick at 9 years.

The family is recorded to have worshiped at All Saints Church Hove Sussex (parish records not available). Patrick Francis is not recorded to have married.

On 1st November 1915 the 39th Division moved from Aldershot to Whitley Camp to complete its training. Rifles were issued in January 1916 following which the infantry began musketry courses and during February the artillery carried out gunnery practice on Salisbury Plain. (War Records)

‘On 29th June 1916 ‘Two companies marched for Richburg and Vielle Chapelle and joined the rest of battalion in the front line at Ferme Due Bois. (The Battle of Boar’s Head) Artillery bombarded enemy trenches from 2pm to 5pm. 12th Battalion attacked enemy front and support lines and succeeded in entering same.

The support line was occupied for about half hour and the front line for four hours. The withdrawal was necessitated by the supply of bombs and ammunition giving out by heavy enemy barrage on our front line and communication trenches preventing reinforcement being sent forward.’

12th Bn Royal Sussex Regiment (image credited to Paul Reed)

Operation orders were attached to the diary. The battalion was relieved by the 14th Hants at 10am and marched to Les Lobes after resting at Richburg.

Lieunant Frank Walter Moyel wrote on the ICRC INDEX CARD for Private Langton: ‘At 3am on June 30th June 1916 some minutes before the attack. The bay Private Langton occupied with [text illegible] was blown in with bombs and heavy artillery – this I saw myself, as I was in the next bay. We had to go forward. I did not see him after.’

The concentration report attached to Private 4975 Earnest Leonard Mepham states: ‘The British uncovered a mass grave containing 84 Unknown British Soldiers and 5 Unknown British Officers who all died on 30th June 1916′

An unnamed soldier of 12TH Battlalion from Eastbourne gave an eye witness report:

‘We paraded to go over the top the next morning. We said the Lord’s Prayer with our chaplain who addressed a few words to us and gave us a blessing. All night we were hard at work cutting the barbed wire in front and carrying out bridges to put over a big ditch in front of our parapet.

The time we went over, guns started a terrible bombardment of the enemy’s trenches.. As soon as this started the enemy sent up a string of red lights as a signal to his own guns. I got a fragment of shell on the elbow about five minutes before our men went over… They blew our trenches right in, in several places’

MEMORIAL

Patrick is Commemorated alongside the other Hove Residents who Fell during The Great War on The Hove War Memorial, the Hove Library Great War Memorial, and the All Saints Church Memorial plaque, the same church his family is recorded to have frequented.

‘Private Langton SD 2370 12TH Battalion, Royal Sussex Regiment. 39th Division. Killed in action on the RUE De Bois 30th June 1916 son of John and Ada Langton of 6 Hove Street Hove. Born Teddington and enlisted in Hove.’

‘Patrick was one of the many casualties in the unsuccessful attack by the 116th. Brigade on The Boar’s Head, near the Rue De Bois at Richebourg. It was a hastily planned action designed to distract the Germans from the main Somme Offensive on 1st. July 1916. A staggering total of 135 of Patrick’s Comrades from the Battalion also Fell on this day’.

‘A very surprising discovery for me at the Ankara Antika Pazari today. I discovered a ‘death penny’ for Private Patrick Frances Langton. CD 2370. This is the first example I have ever seen here. The only information from the dealer was that he picked it up some years go on sale in Ankara. I don’t collect these, but I found that could not simply walk by and accept the idea of it just sitting there, and so I bought it…’

This research was completed by Veronica Wright of The Orange Lilies project.

FREE: Research training session at The Keep archive with Research Coordinator Ross Hammond for The Orange Lilies- Brighton and Hove in the Somme project.

Not everyone is able to attend the whole day, so welcome to come along when you can, or leave when you need to. If you’re attending for the whole session, please bring a packed lunch.

This will be a chance to become a member of The Keep and some more advice about using the services there. There is no pressure to stay the whole day but I will be there from 11am – 4pm to offer any help.

The Keep is a world-class centre for archives that opens up access to all the collections of the East Sussex Record Office (ESRO), the Royal Pavilion & Museums Local History Collections and the internationally significant University of Sussex Special Collections. It is also a centre of excellence for conservation and preservation and represents the new generation of archive buildings in the UK.

The Keep is situated near the Amex Stadium. The easiest way of getting there is via Bus:

By bus

The following Brighton & Hove buses stop just outside The Keep car park at the Brighton Academy bus stop:

We’ll be at this drop-in day hosted by Brighton Museum on Thursday 30th June.

The Battle of Boar’s Head was a diversionary attack a day before the Battle of the Somme, in which many Royal Sussex local recruits (known as Lowther’s Lambs) were massacred. The event had a major effect on Sussex towns and villages, particularly Brighton, becoming known as ‘The Day Sussex Died’.

To mark its centenary Brighton Museum is hosting a drop-in day which will include WWI re-enactors, relevant items from the collections that can be handled, a documentary on the Somme and boards telling the stories of some of the casualties. Members of the British Legion and Boar’s Head casualties’ families will be in attendance, and many of Brighton’s churches will ring their bells at 5pm to mark the day.